comb

¹ American  

[kohm] / koʊm /

noun

1. a toothed strip of plastic, hard rubber, bone, wood, or metal, used for arranging the hair, untangling it, or holding it in place.

2. a currycomb.

3. any comblike instrument, object, or formation.

4. the fleshy, more or less serrated outgrowth on the head of certain gallinaceous birds, especially the domestic fowl.

5. something resembling or suggesting this, as the crest of a wave.

6. a honeycomb, or any similar group of cells.

7. a machine for separating choice cotton or wool fibers from noil.

8. a comblike instrument for imparting a grainlike finish to a painted surface.

9. Chiefly Midland and Southern U.S. a ridge of a roof.

10. a series of springlike prongs projecting from a spine, usually of plastic, for making a loose-leaf binding.

11. a trowel having a notched edge for applying adhesives in setting tiles or the like.

12. Armor. a ridge along the top of a helmet, especially of the morion.

13. Masonry. drag.

14. the upper edge of the buttstock of a rifle or shotgun.

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verb (used with object)

1. to arrange or adorn (the hair) with a comb.

2. to use (something) in the manner of a comb.

   She was slowly combing her fingers through her hair.

3. to remove (anything undesirable) with or as if with a comb.

   She combed the snarls out of her hair. They combed the cowards from the group.

4. to search everywhere in.

   He combed the files for the missing letter.

5. to separate (textile fibers) with a comb.

6. to scrape with or as with a comb.

7. to sweep across; rake.

   High winds combed the seacoast.

verb (used without object)

1. to roll over or break at the crest, as a wave.

comb. ² American  

abbreviation

1. combination.

2. combined.

3. combining.

4. combustion.

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comb British  

/ kəʊm /

noun

1. a toothed device of metal, plastic, wood, etc, used for disentangling or arranging hair

2. a tool or machine that separates, cleans, and straightens wool, cotton, etc

3. the fixed cutter on a sheep-shearing machine

4. anything resembling a toothed comb in form or function

5. the fleshy deeply serrated outgrowth on the top of the heads of certain birds, esp the domestic fowl

6. anything resembling the comb of a bird

7. a currycomb

8. a honeycomb

9. the row of fused cilia in a ctenophore

10. to examine very thoroughly

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verb

1. (tr) to use a comb on

2. to search or inspect with great care

   the police combed the woods

comb Idioms  

1. see fine-tooth comb.

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Other Word Forms

• combless adjective
• comblessness noun
• uncombed adjective
• well-combed adjective

Etymology

Origin of comb

First recorded before 900; Middle English; Old English comb, camb; cognate with Old High German kamb ( German Kamm ), Old Norse kambr, Greek gómphos “pin, peg,” gomphíos “molar tooth,” Slavic (Polish) ząb “tooth,” Tocharian A kam “tooth”; cam ¹, kempt

Example Sentences

Ben put together a search team to comb the property, just in case they’d been injured somewhere and needed help.

From Literature

I quickly put on my best dress and comb my hair into a bun.

From Literature

Starbucks is assessing email feedback from customers and using technology to comb through Yelp and Google reviews.

From The Wall Street Journal

And since they comb the web for the things they don’t “know” off hand, they really can make you smarter.

From The Wall Street Journal

Footage from the campsite on Mount Maunganui shows rescuers and sniffer dogs combing through crushed caravans and flattened tents.

From BBC

Related Words

• examine
• forage
• inspect
• investigate
• rake
• rummage
• scour
• scrutinize
• search
• sift